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LIGHTING FOR QUILTS

© Barbara Macey

Ozquilt Network Newsletter Issue #34

It might be ideal for paintings, but direct lighting doesn't suit all quilts. It definitely doesn't suit mine! Harsh lights close to a quilt often spotlight part of it, leaving the rest too dark. I think that most quilts are meant to be seen as a whole, so this form of lighting does not do them justice. Of course direct lighting is used with good intentions; it is meant to pay the quilt the compliment of highlighting it, of directing attention to it. Direct lighting is meant to make a quilt seem special. The message is often lost because the quilt just doesn't look its best.

I noticed many years ago that my quilts look best in subdued, even, indirect light. That sort of lighting makes them glow. It's hard - impossible really - to make exhibition organisers and galleries understand. On one occasion I arrived at a gallery to discover that my quilt was perfectly lit. Members of my family declared it had never looked so good. I thought that at last the penny had dropped. But no. On my next visit the faulty bulb in the spotlight above it had been replaced and the quilt once again looked awful. I'll keep trying.

Have you ever been disappointed (or pleasantly surprised) on seeing your quilt hanging in an exhibition? Could it have been the lighting? Take note next time and compare your studio lighting with the gallery lighting. What sort of lighting makes your quilt look best? I'd be interested to know about your experiences.

© Barbara Macey 1999
 

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